Yeah, it does seem like a lot of setup. I see in the oolong box that they included a gaiwan, a yixing pot, cups, etc...... But is that really necessary?
And I'm curious, how much tea do you need to start a box? And how much of each kind of tea? I think we'd make it such that whoever started the box would get at *least* as much in return as they parted with (and more variety at that). So shogun, don't worry about that aspect of it, if you do start it. I'd love to start it but I don't have much free time these days.. Although... I'll definitely consider it, especially if it looks easy to do.
Can someone who's participated in the oolong box give us some pointers?
-dave

Dizzwave wrote:Yeah, it does seem like a lot of setup. I see in the oolong box that they included a gaiwan, a yixing pot, cups, etc...... But is that really necessary?And I'm curious, how much tea do you need to start a box? And how much of each kind of tea? I think we'd make it such that whoever started the box would get at *least* as much in return as they parted with (and more variety at that). So shogun, don't worry about that aspect of it, if you do start it. I'd love to start it but I don't have much free time these days.. Although... I'll definitely consider it, especially if it looks easy to do. Can someone who's participated in the oolong box give us some pointers?-dave

I think that most of us have yixing's and gaiwans and all that stuff, so the box only would need to contain tea so the the box can be kept rather small. I would say 15-20 grams of each tea, less if its special. That will give 3-4 steeps. And depending on the quantity we get to start it, maybe your only allowed to test like 5 teas or something so everyone gets a turn. Maybe we should start it after Christmas so everyone has a nice selection, and it would be fun to have during the winter. And seriously if you have a cherished tea, please dont put it in the box, the last thing we want to do is diminish someones collection, feel free to give only cheap stuff like some $10 mengku cakes or something.

Sounds like a plan! Well I'd be happy to start it, but I might not get to it for a couple weeks. I don't think we need to wait for Xmas really. And if the box gets to you and you don't have any teas that haven't already been added, no big deal.

Let's take a few days and figure out the logistics.. For the oolong box, they kept a central list of people, and there was a deadline for signing up. There must be a good reason for that..? I dunno.

So, hmm, what the heck. I hereby volunteer to start the box. As for what to do with the tea when it gets back to me, I will only take as much as I put in at the beginning (or less), and the rest we can send to a lucky contest winner.

Let's add in something else.. When you receive the box, you have to write a haiku or a limerick or something, and add that to the box. Or a picture. Or anything that would add to the enjoyment of the next tea drinker. I guess we could keep it open-ended.

So... do we need a deadline? Is the only point of the deadline to make sure that the box doesn't go on forever, and that the box eventually returns to its origin?
-dave

Dizzwave wrote:Sounds like a plan! Well I'd be happy to start it, but I might not get to it for a couple weeks. I don't think we need to wait for Xmas really. And if the box gets to you and you don't have any teas that haven't already been added, no big deal.

Let's take a few days and figure out the logistics.. For the oolong box, they kept a central list of people, and there was a deadline for signing up. There must be a good reason for that..? I dunno.

So, hmm, what the heck. I hereby volunteer to start the box. As for what to do with the tea when it gets back to me, I will only take as much as I put in at the beginning (or less), and the rest we can send to a lucky contest winner.

Let's add in something else.. When you receive the box, you have to write a haiku or a limerick or something, and add that to the box. Or a picture. Or anything that would add to the enjoyment of the next tea drinker. I guess we could keep it open-ended.

So... do we need a deadline? Is the only point of the deadline to make sure that the box doesn't go on forever, and that the box eventually returns to its origin?-dave

If you are going to start it I think that when it gets back to you you should be entitled to take what ever you would like. I think we do need a list at some point. Your idea of putting in pics and stuff sounds neat. What would be fun is if someone wants to put in a yixing tea pet, that could go all across America and everyone could offer it tea and pack it back up and send it back to the owner, that little tea pet would have an interesting little story! I think we should keep in within the U.S. for ease of shipping.

Did you mean tea pot, or am I missing something? Anyway, cool! I PMd Victoria (who started the oolong box) for any tips she might have. So once I hear back from her, and maybe get some more feedback in this thread, we'll finalize things, set a deadline for a participation list, etc.
Like I said, I might not get to it for a couple weeks... I'll be out of town this weekend for a wedding, and weekdays I'm pretty booked lately.
Exciting!

Regarding the yixing tea pet, I think he really meant pet and not pot. Meaning one of these small yixing clay sculptures - dragons, pigs, foo dogs, - that you place on a gongfu tray to increase your tea enjoyment.

Yes I did mean pet, as the ones Russian described. Russian its nice to have you along!
I will post what I think will be a good starter set of rules.

Rules:
-1) You MUST be a registered tea chater joined prior to June 1st 2008 with a minimum of 75 posts. (This will hopefully keep out people who are just looking for some free tea) If you do not qualify and are serious please PM me or Dizzwave.
-2) You must contribute in some way, tea, tea pet, tea pot etc..
-3) You may not take from the same tea twice, to ensure everyone gets some.
-4) Do not be greedy in what you take, give yourself an honest limit of how many tea you can try
-5) ship box using normal carriers, USPS, UPS, FEDEX, DHL.
-6) For ease of shipping box is to be kept within the North America.
-7) Once received reship within a timely manner (1 week).
-8.) Label all tea added with your TeaChat account name next to it.
-9) All tea is to be put in some sort of CLEAN container.
-10) Post when you shipped the box and to whom it is going to.
-11) You will in no way put anything in the box that is inappropriate or of hazardous material.
-12) HAVE FUN!!!

By signing up to this pass, you agree to all the rules above.

This is just a quick list, If anyone has anymore rules please post them and I will add them, If anybody should have an objection to a rule, please say so.

Last edited by shogun89 on Aug 18th, '08, 14:30, edited 3 times in total.

shogun89 wrote:How much does it cost to go to Canada? I would love to have heavydoom in this. But I dont want people to have to be spending $15+ on postage.

Good question, we gotta have heavy and orguz in on this. I just checked usps.com, and to send a 1 pound box from Portland to Canada, it costs $4.76 for "First Class Mail International Package", but I don't think that allows for tracking. And it says that shipment time "varies". If we want tracking, it's going to be more like $17 it looks like. I just checked UPS too, and the cheapest is $15.
Maybe we could put the Canadians at the top of the list, and I'll send it to them first.. that way, it only crosses the border once each way.
Any other ideas?

shogun89 wrote:How much does it cost to go to Canada? I would love to have heavydoom in this. But I dont want people to have to be spending $15+ on postage.

Good question, we gotta have heavy and orguz in on this. I just checked usps.com, and to send a 1 pound box from Portland to Canada, it costs $4.76 for "First Class Mail International Package", but I don't think that allows for tracking. And it says that shipment time "varies". If we want tracking, it's going to be more like $17 it looks like. I just checked UPS too, and the cheapest is $15.Maybe we could put the Canadians at the top of the list, and I'll send it to them first.. that way, it only crosses the border once each way.Any other ideas?

I think sending to Canada first is also a good idea. That postage for the tracking is pretty steep. We need to start developing a list. I appreciate your help in this Dizzwave!
Oh and everyone If I even make it on TeaChat tomorrow and seem cranky its because I am getting 4 wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow and simply put its going to be one hell of a day.